The Meadows is pleased to present its ongoing series of videos on addiction and trauma; the series features some of the most influential figures in the mental health field, including Maureen Canning, John Bradshaw, and Dr. Jerry Boriskin, among others.

In the second video of her series, Maureen Canning, MA, LMFT, clinical consultant and senior fellow at The Meadows, discusses the nature of sexual addiction and trauma in women.

“Sexual addiction, unlike other addictions, is based in shame,” she explains. “Sex addicts have a sense of self that is very diminished. They feel worthless at the core of who they are. The feel as if they don’t deserve love.”

She goes on to explain that most sexual addictions are rooted in childhood trauma – and that trauma causes disruptions in psychosexual development.

“When the child grows up, they want to undo that original trauma, and so they start to act out,” Ms. Canning says. “And when they act out, they re-create the original behavior.”

In addition to her role as senior fellow at The Meadows, Ms. Canning is a clinical consultant at Dakota, an extended-care facility dedicated exclusively to the treatment of sexual addiction and trauma. Her extensive clinical experience includes individual, couples, and family counseling; workshops; lectures; educational trainings; and interventions. She is the author of Lust, Anger, Love: Understanding Sexual Addiction and The Road to Healthy Intimacy.

In other videos in the series, Ms. Canning discusses such topics as the nature of healthy sexuality, how sexual addiction can kill, and what partners of sex addicts need to know.

View the entire series of The Meadows’ videos at www.youtube.com/themeadowswickenburg.

For more information about The Meadows’ innovative treatment program for addictions and trauma, see www.themeadows.org or call The Meadows at 888-888-8888.